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DIVISION S-7-FOREST & RANGE SOILS

Sulfate Pools in the Weathered Substrata of a Forested Catchment

^a Dep. of Soil Ecology, Bayreuther Inst. for Terrestrial Ecosystem Research (BITÖK), Univ. of Bayreuth, D-95440 Bayreuth, Germany
^b Department of Hydrogeology, Bayreuther Inst. for Terrestrial Ecosystem Research (BITÖK), Univ. of Bayreuth, D-95440 Bayreuth, Germany

egbert.matzner{at}bitoek.uni-bayreuth.de

The mitigating effect of decreasing anthropogenic SO₄ deposition on acidified soils and waters can be delayed by the release of previously stored soil SO₄. We investigated SO₄ pools and desorption in the weathered substrata (0.5–10 m depth) of a forested catchment on granite to quantify the importance of these layers to SO₄ dynamics. Solid-phase materials from 10 boreholes to a maximum depth of 10 m were analyzed for water- and phosphate-extractable SO₄, SO₄ desorption, cation-exchange capacity (CEC), pH, and dithionite- and oxalate-extractable Fe (Fe_d and Fe_o) and Al (Al_d and Al_o). Seven of the investigated boreholes were used to monitor water table depth and to obtain samples for measurement of solution SO₄ concentrations. The storage of phosphate-extractable SO₄ in the weathered substrata was estimated at 90 kmol ha^-1, of which 50 kmol ha^-1 were water soluble. Sulfate pools and their desorption behavior were highly variable, which could partly be explained by the variation of pH and extractable Fe and Al contents of the samples. Sulfate concentrations in groundwater were dependent on the depth of groundwater table and corresponded with the depth gradients of solid-phase SO₄. The SO₄ pools of the substrata were apparently regulating solution concentrations. Thus, groundwater acidification in such aquifers will not be easily reversed by decreasing SO₄ deposition because of the release of previously stored SO₄.

Abbreviations: Al_d, diothionite-extractable Al • Al_o, oxalate-extractable Al • CEC, cation-exchange capacity • Fe_d, dithionite-extractable Fe • Fe_o, oxalate-extractable Fe • IC, ion chromatography

This article has been cited by other articles:

				F. Courchesne, B. Cote, J. W. Fyles, W. H. Hendershot, P. M. Biron, A. G. Roy, and M.-C. Turmel Recent Changes in Soil Chemistry in a Forested Ecosystem of Southern Quebec, Canada Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., June 28, 2005; 69(4): 1298 - 1313. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]